The settlement was established on Mandji
Island in the delta of the Ogooué River by the French, who
signed a treaty with theOrungu people in 1873. It was used as a base for
the expeditions of de Brazza into the interior, then in 1894
a customs post was set up, becoming the nucleus of a trading center
that included Hatton & Cookson, John
Holt, Woermann, Société du Haut-Ogooué, and Compagnie
